Confessions of a grey-headed reporter

Daily Archives: April 10, 2008

Hurrah for WAGA’s Devin Fehely. Wednesday, he produced a c-block story about a traffic investigation. Then Fehely did something we’d wanted to do for years, but never really tried: He taped a standup using a fixed DOT camera overlooking an interstate. He did it to make a point about how investigators ought to be able to use such cameras, but can’t because the video isn’t routinely recorded.

The piece showed Fehely talking to a camera shot by a WAGA photog. Then he turned and talked to the DOT camera directly above. Somebody at the station punched up the DOT camera and recorded the performance. Then both standups were edited into the piece.

The next step is this: Someday, you’ll be watching TV. A reporter will show up at a scene alongside a highway. The reporter will call in his report on a cell phone near a DOT camera. The station will punch up the robo-cam and put the shot on the air, showing the reporter speaking on his cell phone (though we can imagine the audio / video sync may be a bit iffy). And somewhere in the background, you may even see a TV live truck raising its mast to set a traditional live shot.